What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency photographic intelligence report concerning a probable signals intelligence facility near La‑sa in Tibet, dated October 1967. The document is notable because it provides detailed antenna configurations and geographic coordinates for a site that was previously unreferenced in public sources. The record was released through The Black Vault archival collection, originating from a declassification review conducted by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and the Department of Defense. The release date is recorded as December nineteenth, two thousand three, and the material is identified in the archive under the identifier CI01837. The source URL is archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI01837/CI01837djvu.txt. The document reads as follows: App pei reise two thousand three, December nineteenth : CIA‑RDP78T04759A007400010034‑9 LA‑SA probable SIGINT facility, Tibet. October 1967, copy one, three pages, size twenty‑five by eleven centimeters. Group one excluded plus form “two automatic down‑grade”. Declassification review by NIMA/DOD. CIA‑RDP78T04759A007460010034‑9. Imagery analysis approved for release. National Photographic Interpretation Center, installation name, geographic coordinates, function: La‑sa probable SIGINT, latitude twenty‑nine to thirty‑nine north, longitude ninety‑one to one hundred east. Facility code WAC BE NO. Scale one to two hundred thousand. Requirement NPIC project NSA/SOC/R96‑67 11399/AN/6. Basic operational components: Fixed eight antenna; fishbone antennas; vee antennas; PEI‑CHING eight horizontal dipole antennas; one horizontal dipole antenna with screen. The fixed eight probably serves as the direction‑finding component. The other antennas are generally oriented to the south and southwest, indicating that the probable prime area of interest is India. The Black Vault entry accompanying this file states, verbatim: “This is a declassified CIA photographic intelligence report on a probable SIGINT facility in Tibet, dated October 1967.” No additional commentary from the issuing agency is provided. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. For the full document, visit storyflo.com and the archive URL at archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI01837/CI01837djvu.txt.

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Central Intelligence Agency Photographic Intelligence Report

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This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency photographic intelligence report concerning a probable signals intelligence facility near La‑sa in Tibet, dated October 1967. The document is notable because it provides detailed antenna configurations and geographic coordinates for a site that was previously unreferenced in public sources.

Date: AUG 13 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Central Intelligence Agency Photographic Intelligence Report about?: This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency photographic intelligence report concerning a probable signals intelligence facility near La‑sa in Tibet, dated October 1967. The document is notable because it provides detailed antenna configurations and geographic coordinates for a site that was previously unreferenced in public sources.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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Central Intelligence Agency Photographic Intelligence Report

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